Horse-detacher



( o Model.)

J. G. COPELAND. HQRSE DETAOHER.

No. 599,223. Patented Feb. 15, 1898.

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JOHN G. COPELAND, OF CERRO GORDO, TENNESSEE.

HORSE DETACHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 599,223, dated February 15, 1898 Application filed July 12, 1897. Serial No. 644,292. (No model.)

T0 (0% whom it may concern/.-

Be it known that I, JOHN G. COPELAND, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oerro Gordo, in the county of Hardin and State of Tennessee, have invented a new and useful Horse-Detacher, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in horse-detachers.

The object of the present invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive, and efficient device capable in event of a runaway to enable a horse to be detached from a vehicle to prevent it from injuring the latter or its occupants.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective .view of a horse-detacherconstructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of one end of the singletree. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view member being open.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings.

1 designates a singletree mounted on the cross-bar of a pair of thills in the usual manner and provided at each end with a catch 2, which detachably connects a whiitietreehook 3 to the singletree and which is adapted in event of a runaway to enable the driver to release or detach the singletree-hook from the singletree and thereby free the animal and prevent it from injuring a wagon or other vehicle and its occupants. Each catch is composed of a stationary member 4, which is secured to the singletree, and a hinged section or member 5, whichis arranged in a recess (3 of the stationary member and which is locked in its closed position by a crank 7. The stationary sect-ion or member 4: is provided at its inner end with a socket to receive the singletree, and it is secured to the same by a suitable fastening device. The section or member 5 is hinged at its outer end to the stationary section or member by a horizontal pintle 8, and the crank 7, which is arranged at theinner end of the hinged section in a slot or bifurcation, is provided with avertical shank, and it is adapted to swing over and engage the upper face of the said hinged section or member 5. The sections or members of the clamps are provided at their inner faces with transverse grooves, forming an opening for the shank of the Whiffletree-hook,which is pro vided with a head for engaging the rear face of the catch. 4

The transverse grooves which receive the shank of the whiftletree-hook are enlarged at their rear ends to form a cavity for the head of the shank. The outer portion of the stationary section of the catch is reduced and the inner portion is provided with a socket to receive the ends of the whiffletree, and the said stationary section is provided at the front of its reduced portion with a lug 2, which is received within a recess 5 of the movable section and which forms the support for the inner end of the same to relieve the pivot of the both of the cranks are swung out of engage ment With the hinged members or sections 5 of the catches.

When the hinged sections or members of the catches are released,they are thrown open by spiral springs 13, mounted in the recessed portions of the stationary sections or members and adapted to throw the hinged sec tions or members upward. The shanks of the cranks have their lower ends threaded and are provided with nuts 14, adapted to be adjusted to cause the engaging arms of the cranks to bind against the upper faces of the hinged sections or members with the desired degree of friction.

It will be seen that the horse-detacher is simple and comparatively inexpensive in construction, that it is positive and reliable in operation, and that it is capable of instantly releasing a horse from a vehicle to prevent any injury to the occupants thereof.

What is claimed is- 1. In a horse-detaoher, the combination with a singletree, of a catch secured to the singletree at one end thereof and comprising a stationary section and a movable section mounted upon the stationary section and hinged to the same at the outer end thereof, a crank mounted on the stationary section, provided with a vertical pivot and adapted to engage the upper face of the movable section, and a spring interposed between the sections and adapted to throw the movable section open when the same is released by the crank, substantially as described.

2. In a horse-detacher, the combination with a singletree, of a catch secured to the singletree at one end thereof, and comprising upper andlower sections hinged at their outer ends and provided at their inner faces with corresponding grooves, the lower section being stationary and the upper one movable, a whiffletree-hook having its shank detachably arranged in said grooves and adapted to be released by the opening of the upper section, a spring interposed between the sections and adapted to throw the movable one open when the same is released, and a crank mounted on the stationary section and provided with a vertical pivot, said crank being arranged to engage the upprface of the movable section, substantially as described.

3. In a horse-detacher, the combination with a singletree, of the stationary section of the catch provided at its inner end with a socket to receive the singletree and having its outer portion reduced and provided at the front with the lug 2 the movable section of the catch hinged at its outer end to the stationary section, bifurcated at its inner end and provided with a recess to receive the lug 2, a whiffletree-hook detachably arranged in grooves of the sections of the catch, and a crank having a vertical pivot passing through the bifurcation of the movable section and mounted on the stationary section, said catch being arranged to engage the upper face of the movable section, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN G. COPELAND.

Vitnesses:

A. M. CRooK, L. K. FREEMAN. 

